Avengers: Infinity War changed the landscape of comic movies forever with its arrival on April 27th, 2018. The movie sought to do something far greater than what we imagined. It set itself apart by establishing a completely different core plot than what we usually get to see. For once, there was a completely new perspective comic book moviemaking, with the antagonist taking the limelight for once.
A good story is often only as good as its villain. Marvel delivered in this regard when they introduced the MCU fandom to Thanos. The tyrant of the dark quadrant arrived on the silver screen in all his vigor with the intention of death destruction. The result was a cohesive movie which focused on Thanos’ crusade for genocide (or rather half a genocide xD). Although the Titan’s motivations were inherently flawed, the final outcome was less than so.
But it must be noted that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is much more than just the movies. The franchise has become so big (no, thanks to the hype of Infinity War ) that it becomes rather difficult to encapsulate all the different elements of storytelling that are at play all at once. The tenacity of Russo Brothers should be commended here since they were the only ones who could do it so beautifully in Infinity War.
But still, some details (like the Netflix heroes) were completely MIA in the movie. And when we talk about the MCU (a franchise whose core selling point is its interdependent and interwoven cohesiveness) fans will question any and all loopholes in the structure of the story or subplots.
In a recent Q&A session with the directors of Infinity War, a fan raised this exact concern, and the Russo’s replied with the fact that it’s, in reality, quite difficult incorporating the Netflix heroes into the bigger franchise so the creative team decided against it. But rest assured the Defenders were considered for an appearance in Infinity War. This information was posted on Twitter. The relevant tweet has been reproduced as under:-
As can be seen from the above discussion, it seems rather sinister of the directors to willfully ignore the Netflix heroes. But moviemaking is its own world and who are we to question the mighty Russo Brothers and all of their vast directing genius. The story of Infinity War was that of loss and sorrow and of a war that the heroes were doomed to lose.
Would the Netflix heroes have added flair to it or made it more grounded? Perhaps, but was the movie still good despite their MIA status? HELL YEAH. Infinity War’s premise was rather a bleak one, but it made perfect sense given the circumstances of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With over a decade in hype status, the final product rocked the foundations of our comic book movie industry.
All the current hype and the mystery surrounding Marvel’s future only makes the fans more jittery with anticipation for what’s to come in the future. Avengers 4 is on the horizon and the effects of Infinity War must have taken a toll on the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But it remains to be seen how the fallout of Thanos’ snap will pan out in the aftermath of the events of Infinity War. Will the heroes lose or will they finally rise to defeat the Mad Titan and his impossibly powerful Infinity stones. It remains to be seen.
Avengers 4 comes out on May 4, 2019. The cast is impeccable as some of the biggest names are part of the project including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Chris Pratt (Starlord), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Dave Bautista (Drax), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Mariah Hill), Jeremy Reiner (Hawkeye), Benedict Wong (Wong), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Tom Holland (Spiderman), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Josh Brolin (Thanos).
